Dogs & Cats & Bad Poetry, Oh My!

As the handful of people who read this blog on a regular basis know, I am wholeheartedly devoted to the two-cat mafia I live with. They are a necessary component to my life, second only to the darling spouse. When I've had a crap day, I can count on them to love'n'snub. If I sit down, they view that as an invitation to warm my lap, or to start a fight over who warms my lap. And of course, there's nothing like falling asleep to the gentle roar of purrs in stereo.

But...

Lately I've been thinking about dogs, and more specifically, if it would be possible to add a dog to our household without causing complete chaos. I grew up with dogs and cats, but have been dogless since moving out of my parents house, and miss the slobbery companionship.

The spouse and I have talked about this and decided that now is not a good time because
a/ our home is too small.
b/ the rental agreement doesn't include dogs.
b/ the cats would mutiny, and probably abuse the newbie.
c/ (most importantly) we'd be outnumbered.

Really, it's a shame because during the past few months I've added Yaletown to my short list of dog-friendly neighbourhoods. If you're a dog or a puppy and you're companion-owner is a responsible & friendly sort, you're more or less guaranteed favoured-child status by many of the locals.***

My last visit to the local coffee establishment solidified that belief. Since it wasn't raining right that moment, I opted to sit outside and people-watch. The bylaws (and possibly the space-crunch) don't allow dogs inside, but the staff make that snub a little easier by providing fresh-filtered water in a big dog bowl for any canine visitors. During the hour I was there I saw the bowl cleaned and filled twice. And the dogs!! Most of them have more of a social life than I do! Since my caffeinated state demanded a little silliness, I give you...

Yaletown Doggies

Big Dogs, Little Dogs
Tall Dogs, Low Dogs
Brown Dogs, Black Dogs
multi-coloured shaggy Dogs

Yes these are the doggies of Yaletown!
Oh, so many doggies in Yaletown!

Fat Dogs, Thin Dogs
Solid Dogs, Shivery Dogs
Just-trimmed Westie Dogs
Frou-frou Accessory Dogs

Yes these are the doggies of Yaletown!
Oh, so many doggies in Yaletown!

Dogs with pride (civic, national, rainbow)
Dogs with toys, waiting for the next throw.
Dogs with coatees (bootied when it's raining)
Dogs with muzzles (guess they're still in training)
Dogs in collars (leather, sparklies, studs)
Dogs in sweaters, shirts and handsome duds

Yes these are the dog days of Yaletown!
For the oh-so-many doggies of Yaletown!

Riiiiight.....
Sorry about that folks.
I promise I won't read Dr. Suess or Shel Silverstein for at least another month.

*** For the cat lovers - I'm sure Yaletown has its share of cats, but since most of them are inside-only companions, they're pretty well an invisible society. No, they've not yet inspired goofy kids poetry like this. Be glad.

This can go under: yaletown, pets, & poetry.